Boston and Bunnies

Easter 2011

AJ after just a few small pieces of candy. Unreal mess. Maybe the white shirt wasn't such a good idea afterall

Looking for Eggs! He caught on to the idea quickly.

We basically found one egg, ate all the candy in it, and then gradually moved to the next

Looking for Eggs!

Chasing Bubbles early on Easter Morning

Liam petting the bunnies at the Eggstravaganza

Luke petting the bunnies, we have come a long way in being "gentle"

Putting corn in the eggs

Checking out the big bunny and trying on bunny ears

Visiting with the Easter Bunny

Yeah!!!

Looking for Easter Eggs

Decorating Easter Eggs, this is right before Aiden dumped over a bowl of dye all over himself and his brother!

We have lots to be thankful for and to update on this week (lots of pictures too). First off, the marathon! John and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to Boston, the time away from our "chaos", and the race itself. We ran the entire race together which was our plan from the beginning. Many people have asked if we train together and the answer is No. We generally never run together because one of us is watching the boys and when we run on Saturdays, we run in separate groups of guys and girls then we get coffee together. This race, however, was our first one to complete together. The course was tough and hilly, but the temperatures were ideal. They felt a little warm to me (50-60 degrees), but that was definitely because we have been training in -20 degrees and that was actually one of my first runs in shorts. The crowd support was awesome and like no other race. I ran Boston in 2006, but it was exciting for John to see the course and run the small New England towns of Hopkinton, Framingham, and Natick. We enjoyed the screaming girls from Wellesley College and the chaos of Boston College, but the the turn onto Boylston Street for the finish was definitely the icing on the cake. We ran a strong and consistently timed race and finished in 3 hours 34 minutes. This was my fastest marathon to date so that was an extra bonus.

Next up for us, Easter. The boys were so excited about the Easter Bunny this year. On Good Friday, we participated in an Easter Eggstravaganza at a local park. Unfortunately, it is still a bit chilly here and the weather was not the greatest so most of the activities had to be held indoors. We met with the Easter bunny himself, dyed eggs, hunted for eggs, petted live bunnies, had our faces painted, and did a few crafts. I was by myself for all of this since John was at work so this ended up being A LOT of work! This was a jam packed place with a lot of stuff to do and it was a bit crazy trying to keep up with everyone. We survived, however, and the boys asked to do it again as we were leaving so apparently they enjoyed it as well.

On Saturday night before bed, we read a book about the real meaning of Easter and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Needless to say, this is not an easy concept to explain to three year olds and we had some pretty unhappy kids when we did not read their favorite books. As we were walking into church on Easter Sunday, Luke and Liam were talking about what John and I would do while we were at church. When we told them that we would talk about the resurrection like we read in our book last night, Liam said that "the resurrection was for Jesus, not for the Easter Bunny" so I guess we made at least a little progress.

Boston Bound

At the race expo with a couple of our running friends. Crazy busy expo! Our race numbers, Boston jackets, and lunch with my Dad Race numbers

Very tired boys

Movie time (left to right: Liam, Luke, Karsyn, Houston, and Chase above)

Taking a walk to the park with six little kids

Dinner time!

Liam and Aiden playing with chalk

Sweet AJ

Thanks to all our friends and family who have sent so many well-wishes. John and I are planning to run the Boston Marathon on Patriots Day, April 18, 2011. To run the marathon together was a goal that John and I have talked about for nearly 10 years. After many long runs in -20 degrees this winter and several marathons to qualify both of us to run Boston in the same year, we are finally here. We have had a great weekend catching up, visiting with my Dad and Jane, and enjoying the peace and quiet. So what are the boys doing? They are having a blast and probably will not want to come home. They are staying with our wonderful babysitter and her family for a few days while we are gone. Ironically, our babysitter also has twin boys that are a little younger than Luke and Liam. She also has an older daughter who has been helpful with Aiden. Although she thinks we are amazing to be running a marathon, I think she is amazing with her ability to handle six children (all 5 years of age and under) with such ease. I am pretty sure that I am better suited to run marathons than handle that many kids at once. I have to add that I am completely and utterly amazed at what our boys are eating and drinking while they are away from home! I feel a bit defeated to find out they will eat vegetables, drink milk and water, and eat fruit or anything else that is put in front of them while we are away! What?! John and I are laughing at the emails we have received from our sitter. The boys are in for some changes when they get home, that is for sure.

Basketball Goal

He Shoots He Scores!! Check out the basketball on the nice stand in the background. It's just about six inches too high. No more stand, its in the ground and a little lower now.

Thanks Dad!

Shoot!

Swish!

Look Mom, its a worm! Not sure why Dad had to bring them in the house. They only dropped the worms once or twice.

Luke's worm was about twice as long, but not now.

It is finally spring in Minnesota!! It is going to be awhile before we need to mow the grass, but we are finally able to see the grass and the temps are reaching 50 degrees. The boys have been outside a lot this week and loved it. One of their favorite things to do over the winter was to play basketball in the bonus room. So, rather than carry the entire goal up and down the stairs from inside to outside, we decided it was time to invest in a new basketball goal. Unfortunately, I do not think there is much of a market for basketball goals for three year olds because they are all way too high. John quickly had to improvise the goal as we became very frustrated with the height of the goal and clearly our entire basketball career was in jeopardy. haha!

Bunk Beds!!!

Aiden trying out the new beds Everyone on the top bunk

Yipee! The beds are here!

I know I have mentioned this before, but he is seriously the messiest kid I have ever seen. Spaghetti, bread, and one mini oreo cookie in case you were wondering....

One night last week before the new beds arrived, we went in to check on Luke and Liam and this is what we found.

Sweet Brothers

We are in the process of making the transition from cribs to big boy beds. After 3 years and 4 months in the cribs, I think the boys are ready for the change. They are so excited about the idea of the bunk beds and we have been counting the days for the bed delivery all week. The beds finally arrived today and the boys could not have been any happier. It was like Christmas around here and I am not sure who was the happiest-Luke, Liam, or Aiden. Why Aiden? He loved trying to climb the ladder and playing on the beds with his brothers. We have a few "ground rules" for sleeping in the beds so we are hoping for a smooth transition. We have not finished putting their room back together after the painting and arrival of the beds, but I am posting a few initial pictures of the new beds.